Jong Seto, Yurong Ma, Sean A. Davis, Fiona Meldrum, Aurelien Gourrier, Yi-Yeoun Kim, Uwe Schilde, Michael Sztucki, Manfred Burghammer, Sergey Maltsev, Christian Jäger, Helmut Cölfen
- Structuring overmany length scales is a design strategy widely used in Nature to create materials with unique functional properties. We here present a comprehensive analysis of an adult sea urchin spine, and in revealing a complex, hierarchical structure, showhow Nature fabricates a material which diffracts as a single crystal of calcite and yet fractures as a glassy material. Each spine comprises a highly oriented array of Mg-calcite nanocrystals in which amorphous regions and macromolecules are embedded. It is postulated that this mesocrystalline structure forms via the crystallization of a dense array of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) precursor particles. A residual surface layer of ACC and/or macromolecules remains around the nanoparticle units which creates the mesocrystal structure and contributes to the conchoidal fracture behavior. Nature's demonstration of howcrystallization of an amorphous precursor phase can create a crystalline material with remarkable properties therefore provides inspiration for a novel approach toStructuring overmany length scales is a design strategy widely used in Nature to create materials with unique functional properties. We here present a comprehensive analysis of an adult sea urchin spine, and in revealing a complex, hierarchical structure, showhow Nature fabricates a material which diffracts as a single crystal of calcite and yet fractures as a glassy material. Each spine comprises a highly oriented array of Mg-calcite nanocrystals in which amorphous regions and macromolecules are embedded. It is postulated that this mesocrystalline structure forms via the crystallization of a dense array of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) precursor particles. A residual surface layer of ACC and/or macromolecules remains around the nanoparticle units which creates the mesocrystal structure and contributes to the conchoidal fracture behavior. Nature's demonstration of howcrystallization of an amorphous precursor phase can create a crystalline material with remarkable properties therefore provides inspiration for a novel approach to the design and synthesis of synthetic composite materials.…
MetadatenAuthor details: | Jong Seto, Yurong Ma, Sean A. Davis, Fiona Meldrum, Aurelien Gourrier, Yi-Yeoun Kim, Uwe SchildeORCiDGND, Michael Sztucki, Manfred Burghammer, Sergey Maltsev, Christian Jäger, Helmut CölfenGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1109243109 |
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ISSN: | 0027-8424 |
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Title of parent work (English): | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
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Publisher: | National Acad. of Sciences |
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Place of publishing: | Washington |
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Publication type: | Article |
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Language: | English |
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Year of first publication: | 2012 |
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Publication year: | 2012 |
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Release date: | 2017/03/26 |
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Tag: | calcium carbonate biomineralization; echinoderm skeleton; hierarchical structuring; mesocrystal; skeletal elements |
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Volume: | 109 |
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Issue: | 10 |
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Number of pages: | 6 |
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First page: | 3699 |
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Last Page: | 3704 |
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Funding institution: | Max Planck Society; German Research Foundation (DFG) [SPP 1117]; EPSRC
[EP/E037364/2]; EU [MEST-CT-2004-504465] |
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Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Chemie |
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Peer review: | Referiert |
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